Relevancy and the Cult of Self

I often criticize religion in these blogs for its lack of relevance. I believe many people agree, asking themselves “Why do I need it? I’m comfortable living my life as is. Religion has nothing to do with my life.”

The trick for religion is making itself relevant without giving up its fundamental principles; otherwise, it has nothing to say to modern society. One way of doing this, in the case of Christianity, is by continual review of its fundamental principles – making sure they are in line with what Jesus taught – and speaking about them in a clear, “non-churchy” way.

I realize, of course, that “relevance” is personal and subjective. For some people, it means isolating their thoughts and judgments from objective criteria. But many decide what is relevant mostly from what society currently approves and promotes. For them, being current is definitive in deciding what matters and what’s right and wrong. Their principal argument against religion is that it’s “old fashioned.”

PBS News Hour

I was reminded of this when recently reading David Brooks’ satirical essay in the New York Times. If you’re unfamiliar with Brooks, he is a Times columnist and a regular commentator, along with Mark Shields, on PBS News Hour with Judy Woodruff.

Some describe Brooks as a “conservative,” but I don’t like such labels. Usually, I think, he “calls ‘em like he sees ‘em.”

In his essay, “The Morality of Selfism, The Gospel of Saint You,” Brooks satirizes what he sees as the current obsession with self and the adoption of values that conform to our “lifestyles” at the expense of objective moral values. 

“We live in a culture of selfism — a culture that puts tremendous emphasis on self, on self-care and self-display,” he writes. “And one of the things we’ve discovered is that you can be a very good person while thinking only about yourself!

“Back in the old days,” he continues, “people thought morality was about living up to some external standard of moral excellence. Abraham Lincoln tried to live a life of honesty and courage. Mother Teresa tried to live up to a standard of selfless love.

Cruel to Make You Fell Troubled

“But now we know this is actually harmful! In the first place, when people hold up external standards of moral excellence, they often make you feel judged. These people make you feel sad because you may not live up to this standard. It’s very cruel of them to make you feel troubled in this way! It’s very cruel of them to make you feel troubled in this way!”

As for relevance, he continues the satire.

“People are always talking about how Nelson Mandela came out of prison and tried to usher in an era of forgiveness and reconciliation. That’s all very well and good for Nelson Mandela, but what does this have to do with your life?

“If people are talking to you, shouldn’t they be focusing their attention on your life? Shouldn’t they be saying things you can relate to? If somebody starts talking about some grand hero who is dead or lives far away, you should just respond, “Sorry, that’s not relatable.”

This idea of relevance will not work for people searching for God in the Judeo-Christian tradition because Judaism and Christianity depend on following a way of living that believers contend has been revealed by God.

The Ten Commandments are a good example, or Psalm 14 in the Hebrew Bible, which lays out what, for people searching for God, is right and wrong. The first line asks what kind of life is approved by God. The rest of the psalm answers the question.

Acts with Justice

“He who walks without fault; he who acts with justice and speaks the truth from his heart; he who does not slander with his tongue; he who does no wrong to his brother, who casts no slur on his neighbor….”

Nor is the Christian Bible timid about telling it like it is. In his first letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul tells us what it means to love.

“Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right.”